1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for representation of medical image information on a display medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In medical diagnostics, a series of results of various examination methods frequently contributes to the generation of a diagnosis. These can be, for example, magnetic resonance scans, computed tomography scans or ultrasound scans. To generate the diagnosis, an observer, for example a diagnosing doctor, relies on a graphical representation of measured data sets on a display medium, for example a monitor. The representation on the monitor plays a decisive role in making a finding from the data sets. Thus, for example, the contrast and the brightness of the representation are important in magnetic resonance images. With known computer-based systems such image display parameters can be changed, for example, with a mouse and thus the representation on the monitor can be changed. The variation is limited to the degree of freedom that can be achieved by selection with various functions. The user could, for example, initially adapt the contrast of the considered data set with the mouse and subsequently adapt the brightness (likewise with the mouse), but this is not possible simultaneously.
Various methods are known to optimize the display and preparation of medical information towards special diagnostic applications. For visualization it is known to generate pseudo-3D representations that are then displayed on a 2D monitor. The technique of maximum projection (maximum intensity projection; in particular significant for angiography) is an example. In this method a maximum intensity value of grey values encountered in a projection ray is selected and imaged in an observer image plane. In the maximum projection, an entire volume of a 3D data set is mapped and can be observed in any direction. Maximum projection is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,282. A disadvantageous of this known method is also that the diagnosing observer cannot simultaneously review the information from various diagnostic examinations.
The image information shown on a monitor frequently includes a number of partial data sets that are, for example, processed and displayed according to the method described above. In general the partial data sets map a spatial section of the patient, for example the head. A number of slices thus can be reproduced in a magnetic resonance scan of various locations of the head of the patient. The method of maximum projection offers the possibility to simultaneously reproduce the information from the various slices on the monitor. If, however, a number of data sets from various medical examinations, for example magnetic resonance and computed tomography examinations, are to be assessed, high demands are placed on the imagination capability of the observer, since frequently only a combination of information resulting from the data sets leads to a correct diagnosis.